"There were not many communities that simply got to sail through the recession," said Janet Harrah, senior director at Northern Kentucky University's Center for Economic Analysis and Development.

Yet the tax data from 2006 and 2011 show that not every community suffered equally. Some endured greater hardship than others, while a few found ways to thrive amid the economic chaos.

The communities that fared well did so primarily because housing and demographic changes made it possible to weather the storm.

Bellevue, Ky., managed a 16 percent increase in income during the recession – the only double-digit increase in the region – on the strength of new high-end condominiums and town homes that attracted wealthier residents. Average income there climbed from $41,677 to $48,528.

Some others, such as Oakley, may also have benefited from new development, while a few suburbs like Mason managed to maintain modest growth despite the recession.

But those were the exceptions. For the most part, the recession pummeled communities across Greater Cincinnati. Income losses hit Sycamore Township as hard as Green Township, and Oxford as hard as Florence, Ky.

Indian Hill, one of the region's wealthiest communities, took some of the biggest losses with a 19 percent overall decline in personal income.

A slumping stock market and lower returns from other sources of investment income most likely account for the decline there, as in other communities with large populations of wealthy or retired people living off investments.

Still, the loss wasn't enough to knock Indian Hill from the top of the income heap. It remained the region's highest income community with an average of $210,104 in 2011.

Working class communities such as East and West Price Hill are more representative of the region's experience through the recession, which technically lasted from late-2007 to mid-2009.

There, incomes fell by about 9 percent and reflect the recession's triple curse of lower wages, higher unemployment, and tumbling housing values, which, in turn, attract lower-income residents. Average income in East and West Price Hill fell from $29,416 to $26,891.

"Wages have seen complete stagnation," said Pete Witte, former president of the Price Hill Civic Club.

In a few cases, the income tax data revealed a trend that had less to do with the recession than with fundamental changes in a community's economic structure.

The ZIP code covering downtown Cincinnati, Over-the-Rhine and Mt. Adams, for example, experienced the largest decline in the region. But the 31 percent drop probably was the result of young professionals and empty nesters flocking to hundreds of new condos and apartments.

That pushed down average personal income because the new arrivals typically don't earn as much as the wealthier residents who have lived in pricey condos and homes there for years.

Many poor residents still live there, too, of course, particularly in Over-the-Rhine. But they often aren't counted because they don't earn enough to pay income taxes and frequently don't file returns.

While the tax data provide a reliable snapshot in time of household income, the numbers don't measure overall wealth and can't explain whether the income of Greater Cincinnati residents has significantly improved since 2011.

Economists say incomes probably have gone up, but the recovery has been as uneven as the recession that preceded it. Investment income bounced back relatively quickly, as the hard-charging stock market shows, but wages for millions of working class Americans continue to lag in a lackluster job market.

"The unfortunate part about the last recession was the bounce," said Julie Heath, director of the University of Cincinnati's Economics Center.

"If your income is being driven by the stock market, you're in good shape. If it's driven by wages, you're not."

To get a better idea of what happened here during the recession, The Enquirer took a deeper dive into the data and examined why incomes rose or fell in several communities during those difficult years:

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What happened: Surprised to see one of Greater Cincinnati's wealthiest communities post one of the biggest income losses during the recession? Don't be. Rich people lost money, too, and their incomes showed it. That doesn't mean they ended up on the street, or that the losses were permanent. But in the short term, many wealthy residents saw significant declines in wages and, more importantly, in income from investments, such as the stock market. Indian Hill's average income fell by almost 19 percent. Economists say investment losses probably account for most of that decline. "What you're seeing is the impact of the financial crisis on capital gains," said Gary Wright, a demographer and founder of Wright Futures. "That doesn't mean they aren't wealthy anymore, but they were cashing in assets at a lower rate."

What went wrong: The stock market crashed and dividends dried up. Anyone living off their investments still had to cash some in, most likely at a diminished value, and report it as income.

What went right: The stock market bounced back relatively quickly after 2011, so those who were able to hold on to most of their investments have likely seen them return to pre-recession value – and then some.

Outlook: Bright. Economists say the wealthy generally have recovered more quickly than everyone else, in part because investment income has improved while income from wages remains flat.

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What happened: East and West Price Hill aren't quite the middle class enclave they were decades ago, not after years of declining population and property values. But what happens in these neighborhoods still is a good barometer for what's happening in many other Greater Cincinnati communities. The recession was no different. Working class residents here got hit hard by wage cuts and job losses, as well as by a housing crisis that brought more foreclosures and low-income residents to the neighborhoods. It's a story that played out in thousands of communities around the country and in this region. Overall, residents in the ZIP code for East and West Price Hill saw income fall about 8.6 percent, close to the region's average loss of 7.1 percent. "I'll be honest. To fall in the average category makes me happy," said Pete Witte, former president of the Price Hill Civic Club. "Maybe there's at least some stability now."

What went wrong: Unemployment and the loss of wage income likely made a huge impact here. The housing crisis also hit especially hard, even though home values are not directly reflected in the income data. "For Price Hill, real estate is a very strong indicator of income," Witte said.

What went right: The good news, for now, seems to be a lack of bad news. The housing situation appears to have stabilized and the region's job market has improved, which should help neighborhoods like East and West Price Hill.

Outlook: Like many communities, the recovery here has been slow. Economists say incomes in neighborhoods like these will continue to drag until wages rise.

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What happened: Incomes in Bellevue and Dayton fared better than anywhere else during the recession, and the race wasn't close. Average income increased 16.4 percent in Bellevue and 8.4 percent in Dayton. Only seven other communities gained at all during the recession and none rose more than 5 percent. So how did they do it? Good planning, good timing and no small amount of good fortune. Both communities were home to significant, upscale housing and condominium projects at the start of the recession. Those projects soldiered on despite the collapse of the housing market, and upper-income residents flocked to them once they were built, pushing up average incomes in both cities. Bellevue and Dayton also benefited from location and demographic trends: Both cities are right across the Ohio River from Cincinnati, which appealed to young professionals and empty nesters who like the idea of living in a suburban environment that's still close to Downtown. "There was a niche there," said Michael Giffen, Dayton's city administrator.

What went wrong: Not much. Some residents certainly felt the wrath of the recession in both wage and investment income, but the arrival of wealthier residents to fill the new housing developments more than made up for any losses.

What went right: Almost everything. The big condo and housing projects stayed on track even as projects elsewhere collapsed. New, wealthy residents moved in soon after the work was done. Bellevue also saw significant redevelopment on Fairfield Avenue, its main street.

Outlook: Promising. More upscale projects are in the works and demand for housing close to Downtown has not abated. A few condos in Bellevue have sold for more than $1 million, and the Grant Park housing development in Dayton has sold 49 of the 69 homes originally planned for the site.

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What happened: The income changes in the 45202 ZIP code during the recession are more quirky than most. That's because the recession may not have been the driving force. Much like Bellevue and Dayton, the trends in these neighborhoods were likely driven as much by continuing economic development as anything else. In this case, hundreds of new apartments, town homes and condos were built, primarily in Over-the-Rhine and Downtown. So if all that development is a good thing, why did average income decline? Economists say it comes down to math. A decade ago, average income there was skewed upward because so many residents were poor and didn't file income tax returns, while a much smaller number of wealthy residents lived in pricey condos. The people who moved into all those new condos and apartments weren't as wealthy, but still had solid incomes. When their incomes were added to the mix, the average fell from about $115,000 to $80,000, a 31 percent drop. The number of tax returns filed in this ZIP code gives credence to the theory: It rose from about 6,000 to 7,400 between 2006 and 2011. "It's a broader pool now," said David Ginsburg, CEO of Downtown Cincinnati Inc.

What went wrong: Some retired residents likely saw a drop in investment income when the recession hit, and the financial crisis may have slowed some development.

What went right: Many of the projects in the pipeline continued despite the recession, and Over-the-Rhine has continued to evolve into a more upscale neighborhood, attracting young professionals and others with healthy incomes.

Outlook: City officials, the Cincinnati Center City Development Corp. and others continue to make revitalizing Downtown and Over-the-Rhine a priority. Their goal is to attract more middle- and upper-income residents.

The Enquirer focused on income tax returns reported in area ZIP codes and then mapped those ZIP codes to determine how communities and neighborhoods here fared during the recession. Calculating an average for tax returns in a particular ZIP code provides a rough estimate of household income, as opposed to per capita income, but there are many variables. It does not, for example, cover poor residents who do not owe taxes and are not required to file a return. Mainly, the analysis allows for a year to year comparison of returns and shows changes over time.

To compare income before and after the recession, The Enquirer analyzed average incomes from 2006, about a year before the recession's start, and from 2011, about two years after the recession technically ended. Dollar figures from 2006 have been adjusted for inflation to 2011 dollars.

The data from 2011 is the most recent available from the IRS. The data measure only income – primarily from wages or investment – not a taxpayer's overall wealth.

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